Community Wellness Hub 19/6/2025
The Topic for today’s session was Dementia.
We were very fortunate to have Courtney from Dementia Australia.
Courtney spoke about the role of Dementia Australia. Courtney also spoke about the Dementia Advocates Program. A program that provides opportunities for people impacted by Dementia to share their story and experiences to help improve the lives of others. Dementia advocates work together with Dementia Australia to raise awareness, tackle stigma and discrimination, and to influence decision makers.
Dementia Australia is the National peak body supporting people living with Dementia, their families, and carers. They advocate to government and in the community for positive change and vital services. They seek to amplify the voices of people impacted by Dementia and involve them in everything we do at Dementia Australia. An estimated 433,300 Australians live with Dementia and 1.7 million people are involved in their care. Dementia is the second leading cause of death in Australia, yet it remains a challenging and often misunderstood condition.
After Courtney’s presentation we heard from Janet who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Janet is an academic and teacher whose passion is writing. Janet was very articulate describing her experience with Alzheimer’s. It is still early days, but Janet has found support from Dementia Australia as they provide information and counselling. Her partner has also had counselling to prepare for the road ahead. Her presentation was truly inspiring as she is so positive
There were many questions after the two guest speakers indicating a need for such information. Courtney had pamphlets to hand out to the group on many aspects of Dementia support.
DEMENTIA AUSTRALIA: Dementia Australia has a South Australian office located at 27 Conyngham St, Glenside, SA 5065. They can be reached by phone at 08 8372 2100 for the office or 1800 100 500 for the National Helpline. Their email address is sa.admin@dementia.org.au.
It was a truly inspiring day with a great deal of information.
Many thanks to our regular volunteers, Susan, Trish, Heather, Pam, Des, JC, and Ken.